Sonic Advance 2 Game by Sega Published by THQ Reviewed by Philip "Pocket Squirrel" Wesley Size: 64 megabits Save: batteries Released: 2003 Rated: E for Everyone Works with: Game Boy Advance and up. Quick Opinion: Sonic doesn't age well does he? **************************************************************************** Opening Snide Remarks: Once upon a time, Nintendo released Super Mario Bros. 3 which was filled to the brim with weird new moves, new powers, and more complexity than any game of its type at the time. It was brilliant; but daunting in size and scope. So, when Sega needed to develop a mascot game to counter Nintendo's Mario; they decided to make this mascot's game more simple than Super Mario Bros. 3 was. We know what happened, Yuji Naka created a game based on Masato Oshima's character design of a "rather stylized" hedgehog. Then it was decided that this hedgehog would go "fast." The rest is history. Years later, Sonic is over ten years old and has become one of the best loved characters of the Sega Dynasty. He's lost his own home system and now lives on other systems. I love the Sonic series and support it on any system. So, I had to buy Sonic Advance. It was good; but not anywhere near as good as it could been. So, along comes Sonic Advance 2.... will it be good? **************************************************************************** Gameplay Descripion: Maybe Sonic means different things to different people; but I have always liked Sonic games where you go fast and you get a bonus for hitting those poles when you have fifty rings. I also like hunting for big rings ala Sonic 3 & Sonic & Knuckles. I like the 3-D Bonus rounds from 2 and 3. I enjoy manipulating my surroundings by pushing things or hitting things at an extreme speed. I also like being chased by lava, or rushing around to avoid rising water. I do NOT like rampant Stamperism. For those who want to know what Stamperism is, here you go. *ahem* STAMPERISM (Noun): The name refers to the Stamper Bros. who run Rare. The term implies the belief that putting a ton of collectable items automatically makes a game good. For examples: See Donkey Kong 64 and Banjo Kazooie. Both of which relied heavily on collecting countless items. This continues to be Rare's answer for gameplay problems. See Star Fox Adventures. While Sonic Team has it's share of mild Stamperism, this game is by DIPS and NOT Sonic Team. DIPS is responible for Sonic Pocket Adventure on the Neo Geo Pocket Color, as well as the first Sonic Advance. They seem to embrace the fallacy of Stamperism to an extreme. I will get into that in a bit. There are a bunch of selectable characters in this game. First off is Sonic and you need to play through with him to unlock the other characters. The other characters are Cream and her Chao buddy Cheese, Miles "Tails" Prower, and Knuckles the Enchinida. Amy the Hedgehog is also hidden in here. Each of these characters has their own ways of getting through levels and the difficulty of the levels varies greatly between them. There is a Time Attack mode, some two player options, and a hidden Chao Garden and Sound Test. The levels do NOT contain anything chasing me, I don't have to push things and I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE the way you have to access Special Levels in this game. In order to get to a special bonus level you have to get seven hidden rings in a level and cross the finish line for that level without losing a life. That doesn't sound too hard except for the fact that not all characters can get all the rings in certain levels. So much for game balance. It's not so much that it is challenging to get all seven of the rings; but that it is tedious and disrupts the flow of the game. Thus making the game not anywhere near as fun as it could have been. It also makes me upset. You see, I think the Sonic games reached an apex with Sonic CD and then when we started seeing Sonic Adventure, they suddenly spun off into this terrible bastardization of the Sonic formula. This disease has spread to the portable versions as well. The Neo Geo Pocket Color game was fun, the only other collectables were puzzle pieces and you WANTED to collect those. You didn't HAVE to; but you could if you wanted to. Here you HAVE to collect these stupid SP Rings. It's really not that enjoyable. That and many missing elements of the Sonic formula are enough for me to not give it a five star rating. On a plus side, Sonic and pals now have a huge bevy of moves they can pull off. Which is pretty cool. The boss levels are now on "tracks" like some of the battles in Sonic & Knuckles. These boss chases are a bit dull and I don't like them. They work in some games; but not this one. Liked: Hey, cool new moves, interesting characters, and it has some nice speed areas inside the levels. The Tiny Chao Garden is a cute feature; but I prefer the one in Sonic Pinball Party; because I really don't have to jump through as many hoops to unlock it. Hated: The Boss Battles suck. Not nearly as bad as the ones in Sonic 2 on the Game Gear; but damn close. This rampant Stamperism just needs to die. Sonic Team also needs to ACTUALLY do the next Sonic game, you know? It's just not Sonic anymore. In fact, if it contained other characters instead of Sonic, people would probably call this as it is: A bad game. This is a bad game with occassional hints and glimmers of good gameplay mired into tedious gameplay. It's a reasonable distraction; but it is still not a good game. **************************************************************************** Graphics Description: The game looks good and everything animates smoothly. Sonic is made to look more like his Adventure counterpart in this game. That takes a little getting used to. The game has nothing particularly mind-blowing in the graphics department. It's not bad looking by any means; but it doesn't scream amazing if you get what I mean. Liked: Hey, the graphics are nice and they look decent on the Game Boy Player as well. Hated: Nothing really. There's no "amazing" graphics tricks or anything to make this game standout aside from the characters. **************************************************************************** Sound/Music Description: Now the music here is kick-ass. I mean, it's really rather good. Some of it is from other Sonic games; but the new music that is in this game is quite good. It sounds the best when played on the Game Boy Player because you get to really turn up the volume. Liked: It may be a technically bad game; but it has some sweet music. Hated: Nothing here. **************************************************************************** Play Control/Game Design: Nothing particularly bad about the play control; but it does seem like there are times where Sonic goes through somethings that he shouldn't be able to to fall through. Also, the way the SP Rings are doled out is both akward and tedious. This just a bad game design wise. It contains extremely few of the elements that make up a GOOD Sonic game. Maybe I should accept this new Sonic and it's lack of charm; but I can not. This is not just bad, it's Crash Bandicoot bad. You know what I mean, where a game parades around pretending it is good or decent; but in reality is just plain bad. There are a few basics that must be followed if you have a game where you have multiple characters, one of those is that each level -irregardless of which character is used- should start easier and then get progressively harder. This is not the case as some characters stumble around badly in the earlier levels and just tear through the supposedly "harder" levels. Cream pretty much decimates any boss because of the way she attacks. It really isn't pretty. Once you unlock Knuckles or Amy, there really is no point anymore. I suppose I must be a bit biased; but it is only because I remember when Sonic games were GOOD. This is not a good game. It tries to be a good game; but it is NOT a good game. It is not worth your money. Now, games with multiple characters CAN be done correctly. Sonic Adventure, despite its flaws, pulled off a good story while giving every character different playing styles and different levels built into the same locations. That was great and beautiful in how it played out. This -and the game before it- had the potential to do that; but refused to. Which makes me sad. Liked: I like Sonic and his friends. The rails and speed devices in the levels are pretty nice; but they're only minor distractions here. Hated: I do not like the way this game has been designed. It does not feel like a Sonic game to me at all. It is possible to chain the fundamental nature of a game while still respecting it. Look at Castlevania on Game Boy Advance! The games after Symphony of the Night are completely different than the original game; but they still do not remove anything that made the original game fun. In fact, they just build on those things. This game removes the little details that I really enjoyed in the series previous games. **************************************************************************** Improve: Someone needs to save Sonic from DIBS. Sonic Team needs to step up and take an ACTIVE part in the creation of a Sonic Advance 3. I want a new Sonic game; but I want it to be the Sonic I know and love. RIYL: Only hard-core Sonic fans who crave completetion need apply. For those looking for a good Sonic game on a portable, go get the Neo Geo Pocket Color Sonic Pocket Adventure, or track down a Game Gear and a copy of Sonic the hedgehog for it. The first one of course. The second one was not even as pretty as the first one on the Game Gear. In fact, I think I will go PLAY the first Sonic game for the Game Gear now. It was and still IS one of the best portable Sonic games. Heck, why not track down a Nomad and a portable nuclear battery so you can actually finish the first Genesis one on that portable. he he he **************************************************************************** Final Words: I really like Sonic; but I am sad to see him in such a fairly dismal game. Let me put it this way. When I first saw shots of Sonic Advance, I was very happy. I almost cried tears of joy at the thought. I thought that DIBS was going to improve on the Neo Geo Pocket Color Sonic game; but sadly they did not in the first Sonic Advance. Then this was announced and my hopes rose that they would get it right this time. While this game will most likely gain fans and such from the younger Sonic fans, I do not like it. If you are NOT a die-hard Sonic fan, or a seasoned/jaded Sonic Vet like myself: Go ahead and add about 25 to 30 percent to that final score. I used to tape episodes of Sonic The Hedgehog -The Saturday AM show which was dark and violent- and felt guilty for loving Sonic games; because I had such an intense love and loyalty for Nintendo. Sonic helped me overcome by own systemism. Oh, Sonic. Someday you will have a kick ass Game Boy Advance game. But not today. And it is sad. **************************************************************************** Score Gameplay: ** Graphics: **** Sound/Music: ***** Play Control/Game Design: * Personal Opinion: * Total: 13 Final Score: 52% **************************************************************************** Currently Known Codes: Naw...